The Buried Symbol (The Ruins of Issalia Book 1) (34 page)

Pretencia had the right to issue punishment for Brock
’
s repeated tardiness, and he didn
’
t hold back. He likely figured that two weeks of scrubbing pots would teach Brock a lesson, maybe even break him. He didn
’
t know Brock grew up working in a tannery. Compared to tanning hides, cleaning pots was a pleasant diversion. Still, he wished he could be spending his time elsewhere.

When finished, he looped the damp towel over a hook and walked to the kitchen office. The door was open a crack, blue light sneaking through. He knocked before pushing it open. The woman at the desk looked up at him, her spectacles resting low on her nose.

“
Sorry to interrupt, Shirley,
”
Brock said.
“
I wanted to let you know I
’
m finished.
”

She gave him a smile.
“
Thank you, Brock. I
’
ll miss your help around here. If it didn
’
t mean you
’
d gotten into trouble, I
’
d be wishing for you to come work for me again soon.
”

He flashed her a smile.
“
Sorry, Shirley, but my job right now is being a student. Working here doesn
’
t give me enough time to keep up with my studies.
”

“
I know, dearie,
”
Shirley said.
“
But you do such a good job. It will be difficult to go back to sorry old Lonnie doing the wash.
”
A twinkling laugh followed.

Brock smiled again. She was a sweet woman.
“
Well, good luck with that. Good night, Shirley.
”

“
Good night, Brock.
”

Whistling as he strolled through the dining hall, his body was tired, but his heart was light. It felt good to be done with his time in the kitchens.

When he reached his room, Cameron was already in bed. Hearing the door open, Cam sat up and blinked at Brock.

“
Good. You
’
re awake.
”
Brock removed the cover from the glowlamp on the wall.

“
Yeah. I just got into bed.
”
Cameron sounded tired.
“
Benny and I poured through the last of the books we pulled from the library.
”

“
Find anything?
”
Brock asked.

“
Nope. It seems we
’
re at a dead end,
”
Cameron said.

Brock sat on his bed, pulling his boots off.
“
Oh that feels good,
”
he said, wiggling his toes.
“
I
’
m not going to give up yet. I think there are answers, they
’
re just hiding.
”

Cameron stared at him.
“
The library archives?
”

Brock smiled.
“
Yep.
”

“
How are you going to get into that? It has three locks with three keys held by different masters. You said it yourself.
”

“
I
’
ve been working on that,
”
Brock replied, pulling his shirt off.
“
Scrubbing pots requires effort, but mostly physical effort. It gives you time for your mind to work on other things. I
’
m going to make one more trip to the library, and then I
’
ll tell you the plan.
”

Cameron laid back down, letting out a sigh.
“
Why do I get the feeling that this is trouble?
”

Brock laughed as he covered the lamp.
“
You just need to trust me.
”

CHAPTER 55

The sweet, pleasant scent of Ashland
’
s hair tantalized Brock as a stray curl tickled his nose. However, the warmth of her hand on his leg had most of his attention. She finished speaking with the student seated in front of him and sat back, removing her hand. He stared down at his leg, still feeling the lingering affect.

A shout echoed, followed by the loud clacking of wood on wood filling the air. On the Arena floor below, paladin students swung, dodged, and struck back at their opponents. Brock
’
s attention settled on a skilled pair dueling in the center of the floor. A large male student armed with a sword and shield was dueling a female student who was nearly the same height. From the back of her sparring helmet, a tail of bright red hair trailed as she fluidly dodged, parried, and attacked her opponent. She wielded her two short swords with speed and precision.

“
Who is she?
”
he asked Ashland, pointing toward the red-haired girl.

“
Her name is Tegan. She is quite good. She was a finalist in last year
’
s Arena Championship.
”

Brock nodded as he watched her spar.

Tegan ducked under a wide swing, spinning and striking. Her opponent struggled to block her assault. Blows slid off his shield, struck hard against his sword, and connected with glancing blows off his shoulders and legs.

Tegan paused and smiled, standing straight with her weapons at her side. The boy reacted, striking at her with a wide swing meant to finish her. He overstepped when his sword met no resistance. The girl had dipped beneath his swing to spin under the strike. Using her momentum, she rose up as she spun, striking with both blades at his open side. Brock heard bones cracking when she struck the boy
’
s ribs as he arched his back and collapsed to the floor. The master paladin jumped forward and called the match.

Tegan squatted to talk to her downed opponent before helping him to his feet. He appeared to be fighting for air as his face contorted in pain.

Ashland nudged Brock
’
s leg.

“
This is your chance, Brock. They
’
re heading over for healing. I have no doubt she broke his ribs, maybe worse.
“

Brock took a breath and stood. He slid a flask over his shoulder and lifted the bread-filled basket.

“
Brock.
”
He turned back toward Ashland. When his eyes locked onto hers, he felt the intensity of her gaze.
“
You can do this.
”

He nodded again, feeling more confident. Stepping into the aisle, he began descending the stairs

During their first two sessions as healing support crew, he had watched the nine classmates in his group attempt to heal injured combatants. One by one, they had tried. One by one, they had failed. Each time, Ashland had to step in and heal the wounded. She continued to encourage them not to give up, that it often took weeks or months for a breakthrough. In the back of everyone
’
s mind was the fact that the ability was exceptionally rare.

Now it was Brock
’
s turn to try.

When he reached the Arena floor, Tegan and the wounded boy were waiting. His thickly muscled arm was over her shoulder; hers around his waist, supporting him.

“
Hi. I
’
m Brock,
”
he said to the pair.
“
I
’
m here to heal you.
”

“
Funny. I thought you were the baker trying to sell me day-old bread,
”
Tegan said with a grin.

Brock ignored her, focusing on his patient. He looked pale as he struggled for air.

Placing his hand on the boy
’
s bare arm, Brock closed his eyes. He pictured the symbol for
Order
in his mind as he tried to relax, searching for calmness.

In the classroom, Master Varius had only been able to teach the principles of healing. She stated numerous times that the actual method was different for everyone, that the visualization was a matter of personal perspective. You had to figure it out yourself, so Brock was trying to figure it out.

After a minute, he relaxed and found the calm, blue-tinted presence of
Order
within himself. Extending his awareness, he found the sense of
Order
within his patient. He could also feel something else. Something that felt
wrong
, out of place.

He searched with his mind, seeking the cause of the wrongness. In his mind
’
s eye, he found what looked like symbols, pulsing with a red energy in the surrounding blue calmness.

Repulsed, Brock pulled at the
Order
within his patient, using it to smother the red symbols. He encountered the pressure of resistance, so he pushed harder. The symbols began to unravel as if made of cloth, wisps of thin red threads falling away. The affect accelerated as the symbols unwound until they were gone.

Brock
’
s eyes opened when he felt the arm in his grip shudder. His patient
’
s eyes were wide as he gasped for air. A fountain of blood blasted from his mouth, drenching Brock.

Brock let go, jumping backward in surprise. He looked down at his shirt, covered in red splotches and sticking to his torso. He looked at the boy, who was now gasping deep breaths. His color had already returned to normal. Tegan stared at Brock in shock.

Hearing laughter from behind, Brock turned to see Ashland standing on the stairs a few steps away. Despite the laughter, she got a few words out.

“
Good job, Brock.
”

He then heard laughter from the other direction. It was Tegan.

“
Um. Sorry,
”
the boy said to Brock.
“
Do you have something to eat? I
’
m starving.
”

Still in shock, Brock nodded and bent to scoop the basket from the second step. He held it out to the boy, who grabbed a chunk of bread and took a bite.

Brock pulled the water flask off his shoulder, noting the streaks of blood on the strap as he handed it over.

Ashland
’
s laughter had calmed enough to allow her to speak.
“
It
’
s a difficult way to learn, but you should have guessed he had a punctured lung.
”

Brock looked at her, confused.
“
Okay. So what?
”

“
Punctured lungs can fill with blood. When you restore
Order
to the body, that blood has to go,
”
she replied, chuckling again.
“
Apparently, all over you.
”

Ashland spun, returning to her seat. Brock didn
’
t see what was so funny. He was still amazed. He had healed someone.
I did it
. A smile crept onto his face. He felt thrilled at his accomplishment.

A hand clapped onto his shoulder. Brock turned to see his patient smiling at him.

“
Again, sorry about the blood.
”
He handed the water skin back.
“
And thanks for the healing. My ribs feel great now.
”
He turned and walked away.

Tegan was still chuckling as she turned to follow her sparring partner.

CHAPTER 56

As usual, Master Nindlerod cackled away, laughing at his own joke. As usual, his humor was lost on almost everyone in the class. Benny smiled and nodded, seeming to understanding the humor. Karl Jarlish, the other brainiac in the class, chuckled as well. Everyone else just looked confused.

Two weeks earlier, they had moved from the classroom into the Foundry. Today, Nindlerod was conducting a demonstration of yesterday
’
s lesson on casting steel. The master engineer walked them through the process, heating thin metal rods in the forge until they were red-hot. He then poured the liquefied metal into the casting block. The block was set into a shallow tub of water, which hissed and steamed. Nindlerod grabbed a pair of tongs and lifted the top half of the casting away.

“
Behold, our creation.
”
Using the tongs, he held up a large bolt with a blob of metal on the end.
“
Now, we just need to clean it up.
”